SESSION OF RULING COALITION BOARD COMPLETED IN ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S
RESIDENCE

Yerevan, May 12. ArmInfo. The session of the ruling coalition Board,
held in the residence of the Armenia’s President Robert Kocharyan, was
completed several minutes ago. The leader of the “Orinats Yerkir”
party, the Parliament speaker Arthur Baghdasaryan, the representative
of the “Dashnaktsutiun” party’s Supreme Body, the Head of the
Parliament Commission for Foreign Affairs Armen Rustamyan, as well as
the Republican party’s leader, the country’s Prime Minister Andranik
Margaryan participated in the session, it became known to the Arminfo
correspondent from the Parliament sources.

According to the source, the current situation in the “Orinats Yerkir”
party (OY) and in the ruling coalition was discussed at the
session. To be reminded, the OY party’s governing Board had made a
decision the day before about the party’s leaving the ruling
coalition, the resignation of the Parliament speaker Arthur
Baghdasaryan and recall of his ministers from the government. Ten
deputies-businessmen have left the OY faction for the last several
days. The Minister of City Planning Aram Haroutiunyan also announced
today about his leaving the OY. The OY party explains the last
processes by pressure of the governmental circles upon the OY members
because-of Baghdasaryan’s rough speeches concerning foreign political
issues of NATO-European Union cooperation, as well as party’s
criticism of the 2001-2003 state property privatization program. It is
unknown yet what decisions the meeting participants made.